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I think that's the bigger problem in the "west" - connections going down, or being repaired, or moving house and waiting for things to get connected, or taking your console somewhere which doesn't have one, etc - rather than people just not having the internet full-stop. It is a gamble on MS' part, but not one I think will ultimately precipitate the downfall of the console. I'm more put off by the performance as it stands - the ps4 has potentially 50% more grunt for the same ús. Exclusively are another sticking point. I'm not down on MS franchises - Halo and Gears are ok for what they are (mindless cinematic shooters), and Forza has always been excellent - but they simply don't have as many as Sony. I don't know whether it's something MS either don't get, despite Balmers on-stage ranting , or aren't willing to pay for directly, but they need DEVELOPERS DEVELOPERS DEVELOPERS.

Again, I think you may be surprised by the number of people in The West who do not have either a high speed internet connection or and internet connection at all.

On a plus note, I am pleasantly surprised at the UK numbers. but that's still a large chunk without connection

Sure, but how many of those people are the target market for the xbox one? How many don't have broadband because they can't get it, and how many because they aren't particularly interested? And how many have some sort of connection, if not broadband? The whole "once a day" connection thing doesn't seem to necessitate a high bandwidth connection. Obviously the online services do, but that's another story.

I'm not saying everyone in the western world has broadband, just that I don't think the online requirement will kill the console. MS must have done some numbers too to believe they can get away with it.

Perhaps "I don't need it" was because their consoles didn't need activating every 24 hours. Very expensive subscription to play single player games if that's the case.

Perhaps, but I bet there's some correlation between people into tech/gaming and people who have home internet connections/internet usage. It would be interesting to see what fraction of the 360 installed base also has home broadband. I know only around 50% of 360s are online, but presumably some of that other 50% do have the internet. That doesn't mean there aren't exceptions, obviously. And I'm not defending the "always online" MO when it comes to those people. I'd rather it didn't require an internet connection. My xbox is currently at my gf's flat and she doesn't have broadband (not wired broadband anyway) so I'm half in this category at the moment. I just don't think the once a day connection requirement is going to kill the console.

Sure, but how many of those people are the target market for the xbox one? How many don't have broadband because they can't get it, and how many because they aren't particularly interested? And how many have some sort of connection, if not broadband? The whole "once a day" connection thing doesn't seem to necessitate a high bandwidth connection. Obviously the online services do, but that's another story.

I'm not saying everyone in the western world has broadband, just that I don't think the online requirement will kill the console. MS must have done some numbers too to believe they can get away with it.

Once a day is certainly going to be a smaller problem than a few times per hour in games like SimCity.

Yes, I totally agree it's an absurd move and one that absolutely does not need to happen. But everyone was ultra opposed to Steam back when it first launched (and it had significant issues too) and yet nobody thinks twice about it now. While I don't doubt this is going to cop a lot of negative flak, just like with Valve I don't think it's going to make any difference.

That's not true.

Steam only requires you to be online when you buy/register the game. No more connectivity is needed from that point onwards. providing you have your steam account password saved.

I'm not saying everyone in the western world has broadband, just that I don't think the online requirement will kill the console. MS must have done some numbers too to believe they can get away with it.

They can get away with stuff like tying games to accounts (gamers will grumble and accept it anyway), but I just don't see how they can get away with narrowing their audience down to America, Japan (where they're not big on the Xbox 360), and parts of Europe, by having an online requirement. It's not like they can change their minds later with a software update, for the people with no Internet because lol, no Internet!

Once a day is certainly going to be a smaller problem than a few times per hour in games like SimCity.

I've since read they've distanced themselves from even that post-reveal interview comment now - who knows what's going on!

Originally Posted by Drake Sigar

They can get away with stuff like tying games to accounts (gamers will grumble and accept it anyway), but I just don't see how they can get away with narrowing their audience down to America, Japan (where they're not big on the Xbox 360), and parts of Europe, by having an online requirement. It's not like they can change their minds later with a software update, for the people with no Internet because lol, no Internet!

I guess they figure their biggest markets have fairly significant proliferation of reliable home broadband. Although - as above - apparently they're now saying the once a day requirement may not strictly be true. Seems this issue is going to remain unresolved for now. Fingers crossed some clarity is forthcoming soon!

Personally the always online thing isn't an issue, but i can understand why some people would be upset about it. I'm not really a fan of the direction Microsoft is going with the Xbox One overall, i will reserve my final judgement for E3 though.